In an article for the Atlantic Seattle entrepreneur and venture capitalist Nick Hanauer writes: "Like many rich Americans, I used to think educational investment could heal the country’s ills—but I was wrong. Fighting inequality must come first." Hanauer, as we…
As a culture we celebrate small business. There are many reasons why we should. It certainly is one of the paths to economic success for those who create a long term successful enterprise. And small business are a source of…
This is our third recent post on reforming capitalism so that it works for all. The first featured the writings of hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio on the reality for forty years growth in the American economy has not benefited…
Terrific Forbes column by thinkLaw’s Colin Seale. It is entitled The Equity Problem With Saying 'College Isn't For Everyone’. Seale is exactly right to label four-year degree attainment an equity issue. Are there some with four-year degrees who struggle economically?…
In our state policy agenda we advocate for augmenting wages and benefits through some combination of employer mandates and/or a strengthened safety net. And note that the employer mandate recommendations is the area where we have the most disagreement amongst…
Ray Dalio's call to reform capitalism is high recommended. Dalio is the founder, co-Chief Investment Officer and co-Chairman of Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund. In his essay entitled Why and how capitalism needs to be reformed, Dalio writes:…
When broad economic prosperity is your goal--when you want to see all households growing in income and financial stability--what you measure really matters. Michigan Future has put together a very clear set of up-to-date data that paint the picture of…
At Michigan Future, our goal is prosperity for all Michigan families. That doesn't mean just a high GDP or low unemployment. We all know there are plenty of jobs that don't pay well, and plenty of people working multiple jobs…
The Michigan Association of United Ways reports that in 2017 43 percent of Michigan households were unable to pay for necessities. Up six percent from 2010 when the Michigan economy was just starting to grow after the Great Recession. How…
Terrific assessment of Michigan 2019 by Chad Livengood for Crain's Detroit Business. (I did a podcast with Chad that accompanies the article.) He writes: There are potholes in Michigan — and not just in the roads. Potholes in household income.…